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Story Ideas for Media 2/10/09

News

University leaders from Iraq visit Ohio State. The presidents, or rectors – as they are called in Iraq, of seven Iraqi universities are visiting Ohio State this week to learn how some U.S. universities are managed. The visit is part of a U.S. State Department “International Visitor Leadership Program,” which invites the presidents to “examine the university system in the United States, share best practices and innovations in the ways universities and colleges are managed, and to establish links for future cooperation.” The officials arrive late on Tuesday (2/10) and depart early on Saturday (2/14). During their stay, they will tour labs and other facilities, meet with exchange students, faculty, university administrators, and state education leaders. They also will visit a few spots in Columbus, including Franklin University, Easton Town Center and the Noor Islamic Center. The presidents have already visited North Carolina State University and Texas A&M University. CONTACT: Maureen Miller, (614) 247-2462.

Research

Ohio State study: Minority stock ownership continues to fall in market downturn. The recent severe downturn in the stock market may further reduce stock ownership by African American and other minority investors, new research suggests.
Minorities, who had long trailed whites in stock ownership, had begun to catch up between 1992 and 2001. But a new study found that those gains largely disappeared between 2001 and 2004, which included the major stock market downturn in 2002.
If minorities began bailing out of the stock market during the 2002 decline, it’s likely their rates of stock ownership are going to continue to lag whites and maybe even fall further behind in the current environment, said Sherman Hanna, co-author of the study and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University. “All the bad trends we saw in minority stock ownership from 2001 to 2004 will probably continue for the next several years, because, if anything, the conditions now are even scarier for investors,” Hanna said. CONTACT:Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457. SEE:http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/minoritystock.htm

Events

Leading foreign policy scholar to speak at Ohio State – Feb. 11. One of America’s foremost scholars and advisers on international politics, Joseph Nye Jr., will discuss “The Powers to Lead” at noon on Wednesday (2/11) at Ohio State’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Ave. Nye, the former dean of Harvard University’s’ Kennedy School of Government, coined term ‘soft power’ as way nations can persuade and inspire, not dictate.
Nye is delivering the annual Joseph J. Kruzel Memorial Lecture, which honors the Ohio State political science professor who was killed in Bosnia, while serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Affairs. CONTACT: Cathy Becker, Mershon Center, (614) 292-7529.

Ohio State kicks-off “green” partnership with Cranbrook Elementary School – Feb. 13. Ohio State’s office of Business Operations, a division of the Office of Business & Finance, and Cranbrook Elementary School will celebrate their new “Partners In Education” agreement at an assembly at 2 p.m. on Friday (2/13) at the school, 908 Bricker Blvd. While many academic departments partner with area schools, this is the first Ohio State business unit to join the volunteer effort. Business Operations include campus buses, parking lots, copiers, delivery trucks, printing and other services. At the kick-off assembly, students will receive plantable paper Valentines that will grow into wild flowers, demonstrating the ability to reuse and reduce materials. Ohio State has made major efforts to go “Scarlet, Gray, and Green,” and will be working on green projects with the students. CONTACT: Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.

The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110; or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.